Sarah Palin is cute and a proven leader

Letter to the editor

Posted: Tuesday, October 31, 2006

I just read Laury Scandling's Wednesday letter stating that even though Sarah Palin is cute, she can't cut it. Well, Laury, I got a message for you. Sarah is cute, and she can cut it. She has proven that probably more than anyone else in the state.

Sarah doesn't lie, and she stands by her principles. The people of Alaska have seen that when she stood up to her own party on issues that she believed were important to the people of Alaska. Sarah Palin has proven to be a strong leader and is very qualified to be the next governor of this state.

Then, on the other hand, there is Tony Knowles. My wife says that he is cute, has a nice smile and appears to have great teeth. Nevertheless, there's a little more required than that if you're going to be the next governor of this state. I have been around now in Alaska for almost 40 years and know a little about leadership, and Mr. Knowles doesn't cut it.

In the eight years that Knowles was governor of this state, I didn't see any leadership from him at all. His administration was run by his chief of staff, who now runs an environmental organization in Juneau. Knowles allowed his chief of staff and boat gang to influence him to implement the $200 million fast ferry boondoggle even though the Department of Transportation determined after extensive study that the road out of Juneau was the most reasonable alternative for Juneau. This was done right after the province of British Columbia beached its fast ferries because they proved unfeasible. This fast ferry fiasco has set back access to Juneau for at least 10 years and will fuel the capital-move issue for years to come.

Cute is OK if you are Sarah Palin. She has proven herself to be an effective leader, and she will be the next governor of this great state.